Leeds United employee shares emphatic Luke Ayling claim as new details emerge
Noel Whelan has claimed Luke Ayling should stay in the Leeds United lineup after his display during the loss against Fulham.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the 31-year-old’s display was one of the “shining positives”
Ayling came in for his first Premier League start of the season during the 3-2 loss against Fulham on Sunday (23 October), replacing summer signing Rasmus Kristensen.
As per Sofascore, the right-back registered two blocks, one interception, and made four tackles – as well as winning seven of his 12 duels.
Ayling made 26 top-flight appearances last season before succumbing to injury in the closing stages of the campaign.
Kristensen, who joined Leeds United in the summer for a reported fee of around £10million, has started nine Premier League games so far this season.
Whelan singled out the performances of Crysensio Summerville and Joe Gelhardt as other positives during the loss.
When asked if Ayling should stay in the starting eleven, he told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “Yes. I think he was one of the shining positives to come from Sunday’s game.
“We needed that experience, we needed that voice. And with the amount of blocks he put in, you could see why he was on the pitch.
“He really put his body on the line.
“There weren’t too many positives, but I think he was one of them, along with Summerville’s first goal and the work from Gelhardt.
“In the end, Fulham fully deserved the win.”
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